The Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived (1878–1898) empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Dyula ruler Samori Touré and destroyed by the French colonial army.
In 1864, Toucouleur ruler El Hajj Umar Tall died near Bandiagara, leaving the then-dominant Toucouleur Empire tottering and a number of chiefs rushing to break their own pieces away from the newly-weakened federation. By far the most successful among them was Samori Ture of what is now southwestern Guinea.
Read more about Wassoulou Empire: Army Organization, Expansion, The Mandingo Wars
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“Without the Empire we should be tossed like a cork in the cross current of world politics. It is at once our sword and our shield.”
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